Turning a Nasty Comparison into a Healthy Practice

I will admit, digging through some of my old work the other day did not start with the intention of a healthy practice. No. The process started because I found another artist’s work that was so amazing, it made me question all of my life’s decisions.

Ok, maybe not so dramatic, but definitely questioning decisions I made regarding my creative career - the various paths I’ve taken, the projects I was currently working on, and whether any of my work amounted to anything. Yeah, totally didn’t help my already off week filled with distraction and overwhelming blah. So I started digging through the archives.

I went through e-ver-y-thing-uh. I organized my images in a few categorized folders and did not exclude the work of mine that I didn’t like. I wanted to know: is there an overarching theme? Have I made progress in my skills? What specifically do I like about what I like and what specifically do I not like? Am I even developing a style after all these years? What is it that’s making me feel so discouraged when I compare myself to this other artist? Am I even an artist? Why did I decide to experiment with x, y, z?

Trust me when I say I’m my own worst critic and I went into it objectively get to the bottom of it all.

Surprisingly, I came out of this self-appointed exercise with so much more hope and forgiveness than I expected. Not only was I able to let go of past mistakes, but I analyzed each project as a lesson, which added clarity and focus to my current and future game plan. Which was another pleasant reminder as to why I fell in love with photography in the first place and what I was doing it all for!

As for the other artist? Well, that envy I felt in the beginning turned into admiration and respect. How could I even make the comparison when we’ve lived such different lives?! Derr. I may not be at their level, but that’s ok! I now have another positive example of inspiration to strive towards my own greatness.

So to anyone who may be going through a moment of self-doubt and is feeling lost along their creative journey, I highly encourage to try this out. It might seem daunting, but you may very well realize the light at the end of the tunnel and get right back on track.